Aaron Ramsey put the visitors in front only for Francis Coquelin to drop them in it with a foolish red card, and it looked all over when Toby Alderweireld and Harry Kane scored twice in as many minutes.

But Sanchez popped up with an equaliser, and the 10 men could even have won it but for a superb block tackle by Kevin Wimmer on Ramsey.

Arsenal have come in for plenty of stick recently. But Mertesacker insists the players are their own biggest critics.

He said: “We demand a lot from ourselves. We demand a lot in each and every training session and that gives us a lot. We don’t look too much around.

“We treat each other like we want to win something, so you get a lot of stick if you don’t perform, especially in training.

“We criticise each other enough in the dressing room and we demand a lot more from ourselves than just going somewhere and playing like we do not care.

“We showed up in this game and everybody noticed that we care. As long as we play like that, I’m confident. I have great belief in our group and nothing else.”

It was a draw which stopped the rot for Arsenal after defeats to Barcelona, Manchester United and Swansea.

But Arsene Wenger admitted they may not yet have won back the Gunners faithful with the gap to leaders Leicester extended to eight points.

He said: “I don’t know. I cannot speak for people. We just have to try, to focus on our job and do it well. They’ve shown they can play well even if confidence is not high.”

Mauricio Pochettino was left to rue another missed opportunity after his second-place side - who should have had Eric Dier sent off - dropped five points off the leaders.

But he watched top scorer Harry Kane score a stunning first goal in five games.

Pochettino said: “I have confidence in him. Harry has a strong mentality and is a very good player and it’s true to play with the mask isn’t easy.

“But I think this was a big opportunity to score and show he is back and it’s important for him and the team.

“He came from a period that was difficult for him. I think it’s a good point to lift him and his confidence. It’s important for the team that Harry has started to score again.”

Kane, who thought he had scored the winner, said: “When you go 2-1 ahead, especially when they are down to 10 men, you definitely think that could be the winner. I am disappointed that it wasn’t.

“We’re disappointed. With them going down to 10 men and our two quick goals, we should have then gone on to get a third and a fourth and finish the game off. It’s a lesson we have to learn from.”